掃描幫助解開埃及3000 年前一個高地位女性之謎 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

Scans help solve a 3,000-year-old mystery of a high-status Egyptian woman (2/2)

Ashley Strickland, CNN

Sat, November 9, 2024 at 10:46 p.m. GMT+8·8 min read

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Solving a coffin mystery

Lady Chenet-aa lived about 3,000 years ago during the 22nd Dynasty in Egypt.

The new scans helped scientists estimate that the high-status woman died in her late 30s to early 40s, while wear on her teeth shows that the food she ate contained grains of sand rough on the enamel.

Stuffing was placed in her trachea to ensure her neck wouldn’t collapse, and artificial eyes were placed in her eye sockets to guarantee she had them in the afterlife, Drake said.

“The additions are very literal,” Brown said. “If you want eyes, then there needs to be physical eyes, or at least some physical allusion to eyes. They’ll put a prosthetic in to make sure that you’ve got everything you need when you go to the afterlife.”

Lady Chenet-aa was wrapped in expensive layers of linen before being placed in a decorated cartonnage coffin, or a papier-mâché-like funeral box. But the biggest mystery about the Egyptian was how she was placed in the box in the first place.

There were no visible seams, and only a tiny opening at the feet — not wide enough to accommodate sliding the body into the box.

The new scans revealed the cartonnage’s underside for the first time, showing that the box was essentially laced shut at the back before being plastered over to create a seamless aesthetic, Brown said.

The team said that embalmers stood the mummy upright and that the cartonnage was softened with humidity to make it flexible so they could closely mold it around the body. A slit was cut at the back of the cartonnage so the body could be placed inside, and then it was closed up and laced shut.

While a CT scan can’t detect colors, it revealed the artistic designs etched into the top of the cartonnage, including indents for the knees.

The team also took a closer look at Harwa, a mummified individual who lived around 3,000 years ago and was a granary’s doorkeeper. Analysis of scans shows he was in his early to mid-40s when he died. From all appearances, he had a high social status and lived a comfortable life.

“We started looking at these two individuals primarily just to see a better idea of age and sex and any obvious pathologies or things we might see,” Drake said. “One thing that we are seeing is pretty extensive wear on their teeth because they’re living next to the desert, and there’s going to be a lot of sand in their food, or they’re using stone to grind their food. But we’re not seeing a lot of wear on the body for these two individuals in particular who were higher status and likely not conducting a lot of physical labor.”

The CT scans help scientists understand any chronic conditions individuals may have had, but the technology also aids in correcting cases of mistaken identity. While Harwa and Lady Chenet-aa both clearly had coffins made just for them, not every mummified individual was as fortunate.

One of the coffins is etched with hieroglyphics that indicate a priest was buried inside, but the individual was a 14-year-old boy much smaller than the coffin.

“We know that sometimes people really wanted to be mummified but didn’t necessarily always have the best means to do so,” Drake said. “You could get a discount coffin by borrowing or using someone else’s.”

Caring for mummified persons

In the late 19th century as archaeologists uncovered mummies in Egypt’s deserts, they would unwrap them to see what they could learn. Now, the emphasis is on protecting mummified individuals to help them last for thousands of more years, Brown said.

Today, practices around mummified individuals have shifted to show respect for how human remains are presented and displayed in museum settings, Drake said. The Field Museum also had conversations with Egyptian representatives about returning the mummies to Egypt, but those officials requested that the mummies remain on display at the Chicago museum, she said.

Harwa’s adventurous afterlife is one example of how things have changed. In 1939, he became the first mummified person to fly on an airplane, and he was taken to a Broadway show upon his arrival in New York City. On display at the New York World’s Fair for two years, he then returned to the Field Museum after getting lost in the luggage and being sent to San Francisco.

“It’s maybe not what we would consider ethical anymore,” Drake said. “One of the big things for these ancient Egyptian individuals is how you continue to live after death. And that is part of his story and his journey.”

The museum wants to convey the idea that mummies are people, rather than art objects, Brown said.

“We are trying to understand them as people so that we can share those stories and insights with the general public to kind of rehumanize and shift the narratives to be more respectful and give some more dignity to these mummified individuals,” Drake said.

Translation

 掃描幫助解開埃及3000 年前一個高地位女性之謎 (2/2)

（繼續）

解開棺材之謎

Chenet-aa 女士生活在大約 3,000 年前的埃及第 22 王朝時期。

新的掃描幫助科學家估計這位地位較高的女性死於 30 歲末至 40 歲出頭，而她牙齒上的磨損表明她吃的食物有沙粒而令琺瑯質表面粗糙。

Drake說，她的氣管中被放置了填充物，以確保她的脖子不會塌陷，並且在她的眼窩中放置了人造眼睛，以確保她在來世仍擁有它。

Brown說: 「這些填充物有非常字面意思」; 「如果你想要眼睛，那麼就需要有叫眼睛的物體，或至少有一些暗示眼睛的實體。他們會安裝人造的身體部位，以確保你在來世時擁有所需的一切」。

Chenet-aa女士被包裹在昂貴的亞麻布中，然後被放入裝飾精美的紙質棺材或紙漿狀葬禮盒中。但關於埃及人最大的謎團是她最初是如何被放入盒子裡的。

沒有明顯的接縫，只有在腳部有一個很小的開口 - 不夠寬去把屍體滑入盒子。

Brown說，新的掃描結果首次揭示了紙箱的底面，表明盒子基本上是在背面用帶子綁緊，然後再用灰泥覆蓋以創造出無縫的美感。

研究小組表示，防腐人員將木乃伊直立起來，並用濕度軟化了紙箱，使其變得柔韌，以便他們可以把它圍着屍體緊密地包裹。在紙箱的背面切開一條縫，以便將屍體放入裡面，然後將其封閉並用帶子綁緊。

雖然 CT 掃描無法檢測顏色，但它顯示了蝕刻在紙箱頂部的藝術設計，包括膝蓋的凹痕。

研究團隊也仔細觀察了Harwa，這是某人木乃伊個體，生活在大約 3000 年前，是糧倉的看門人。掃描分析顯示，他去世時年僅 40 歲出頭。從表面上看，他的社會地位很高，生活也很安逸。

Drake說：「我們開始研究這兩個人，主要是為了更好地了解年齡和性別，以及我們可能看到的任何明顯的疾病或事物」; 「我們看到的一件事是，他們的牙齒磨損相當嚴重，因為他們生活在沙漠旁邊，食物中會有很多沙子，或者他們用石頭磨食物。但我們沒有特別地看到這兩個人的身體受到很大的磨損，他們的地位較高，可能沒有進行過大量的體力勞動」。

CT 掃描可幫助科學家了解個人可能患有的任何慢性疾病，而該技術還有助於糾正身份錯誤的情況。雖然Harwa和Chenet-aa女士顯然都有專門為他們製作的棺材，但並不是每個木乃伊個體都那麼幸運。

其中一個棺材上刻有像形文字，顯示裡面埋著一位牧師，但棺材裡埋的是一名 14 歲的男孩，比棺材小得多。

Drake說: 「我們知道，有時人們確實想被製成木乃伊，但並不總是會得到最佳方法來做到這一點」; 「去借用或使用別人的棺材可以有折扣」。

照顧木乃伊

19 世紀末，當考古學家在埃及沙漠中發現木乃伊時，他們會打開它們，看看能學到什麼。Brown說，現在的重點是保護木乃伊個體，幫助它們再存活數千年。

Drake說，如今，有關處置木乃伊的做法已經轉變，在博物館環境中, 對陳列和展示的人類遺骸會表達尊重。她說，菲爾德博物館也與埃及代表就將木乃伊歸還埃及進行了對話，但這些官員要求將木乃伊繼續在芝加哥博物館展出。

Harwa的來世冒險就是事情怎樣改變的一個例子。 1939年，他成為第一個乘坐飛機飛行的木乃伊人，抵達紐約市後，他被帶到了百老匯會演。他在紐約世界博覽會上展出了兩年，然後在行李中迷路, 並被送往舊金山後回到菲爾德博物館。

Drake說: 「這可能不再是我們認為有道德的行為」; 「對這些古埃及人來說，最重要的事情之一就是死後如何繼續生活。這是他的故事和旅程的一部分」。

Brown說，博物館希望傳達這樣的理念：木乃伊是人，而不是藝術品。

Drake說：「我們試圖將他們作為人來理解，這樣我們就可以與公眾分享這些故事和見解，從而使這些木乃伊個體重新人性化，並改變敘述方式，使其更加被尊重並給予這些木乃伊更多的尊嚴」。

So, scientists have peered beneath the wrappings of ancient Egyptian mummified human remains so as to uncover new details about their identities and how they were prepared for the afterlife — all without removing a single piece of linen. The CT scans help scientists understand any chronic conditions individuals may have had and aids in correcting cases of mistaken identity. Through these scanning we can also tell their stories when they were alive some 3,000 years ago. In the late 19th century when archaeologists uncovered mummies in Egypt’s deserts, they would unwrap them to see what they could learn. Now, the emphasis is about protecting mummified individuals to help them last for thousands of more years.